Due to what's called a "toilet plume," fecal or urine matter can be pushed from the toilet into the air and spread onto other surfaces, a study says.

But now scientists warn the possibility that particles spread through flushing could pose a risk of virus transmission, Forbes reports.

"Contaminated toilets have been clearly shown to produce large droplet and droplet nuclei bioaerosols during flushing, and research suggests that this toilet plume could play an important role in the transmission of infectious diseases for which the pathogen is shed in feces or vomit," the study, published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information said.

Chen told Forbes that closing the toilet lid could stop around 80 percent of fecal matter particles from being spread.

The new study came as coronavirus cases in the U.S. neared 250,000, with more than 6,000 deaths.

Alvin Lai Chi-keung, the author of another study on fecal matter spread through flushing, told the South China Morning Post: “Covering the toilet lid while flushing is definitely essential, but it should not be considered a complete prevention.”

The CDC has not recorded any cases of people contracting COVID-19 through fecal matter (stock image)Credit: Getty Images - Getty

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Workers covered in protective gear and masks gather outside Bronx Care Hospital Center in New York CityCredit: The Mega Agency

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New York City's Times Square is pictured empty amid virus lockdownsCredit: The Mega Agency

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A worker stands registers a patient at a drive-through testing center in TexasCredit: AP:Associated Press

Although the NCBI study suggested disease spread may be possible through the toilet plume, it said the exact risk is unknown, and called for more research.

The CDC has previously said that COVID-19 has been found in fecal matter of some patients know to have the virus – although the agency says as of now no one has been known to contract the virus that way.

"The risk of transmission of COVID-19 from the feces of an infected person is also unknown," the CDC states.

"However, the risk is expected to be low based on data from previous outbreaks of related coronaviruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

"There have been no reports of fecal-oral transmission of COVID-19 to date," the U.S. health agency added.

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A tent is pictured at a pop-up hospital in New York City's Central ParkCredit: Getty Images - Getty

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